Lockheed Martin has been awarded an initial contract valued at $9 million to provide the U.S. Navy with five TB-34 Next Generation (NextGen) Towed Array acoustic sensors that will be deployed on Los Angeles, Seawolf and Virginia class submarines.

TB-34 NextGen arrays were developed to provide the U.S. Navy with improved anti-submarine warfare and contact avoidance capability in cluttered littoral environments, as well as to maintain the submarine fleet's ready-for-issue, fat-line, towed-array inventory. They will eventually replace the Navy's TB- 16 series of towed arrays. The total potential value of this contract is $47 million if production options for up to 74 TB-34 towed arrays and 52 array interface hardware units are exercised.

Under the initial contract, a Lockheed Martin-led team also will provide the U.S. Navy with engineering services and support, technical manuals and training curriculum. All assembly work for this contract will be done at the company's facility in Syracuse, NY, and is scheduled for completion by December 2009.

"We are honored by our selection to produce the TB-34 NextGen arrays that will provide increased shallow water capability and reliability for the U.S. Navy's submarine force," said Chuck Cantello, vice president, Sensors & Advanced Programs, at Lockheed Martin's Undersea & Security Systems business. "We will leverage our 30-plus years of design, manufacturing and support of towed array systems for the U.S. Navy, along with our investment in new technologies, to produce a superior new product."

"This is great news not only for our men and women in the Navy, but for Syracuse," said Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY). "Central New York continues to be a leader in defense projects, and I am thrilled the Department of Defense recognized this by awarding Lockheed Martin this contract to manufacture TB-34 NextGen Towed Arrays."

"This is wonderful news for our men and women in uniform, for New York and for the Syracuse community," said Sen. Hillary R. Clinton (D-NY). "This new contract will keep more jobs in the Syracuse area and is further evidence of the world-class capabilities of Central New York."

"This new contract award will keep highly skilled manufacturing jobs at Lockheed Martin's Syracuse facility and continue their excellent work on behalf of the U.S. Navy submarine force," said Rep. James Walsh (R-NY-25).

Headquartered in Bethesda, MD, Lockheed Martin employs about 140,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services.

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SOURCE: Lockheed Martin